Urbanization in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, China

Abstract

The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone (PRDEZ) is one of the most vigorous economic regions in China, and even in the world. Since the economic reform and opening up to the outside world, PRDEZ has been undergoing rapid urban expansion. based on a large number of investigative data, three indices (expansion coefficient of urban land, harmonious coefficient between population and cropland, and benefit coefficient of urban land) were designed and used to discuss the interrelationships between urbanization, economy and land use. The results suggest that urbanization is not the main reason for a reduction in cropland in the study area. In contrast, urbanization has the following advantages: 1) Urbanization of the rural population favours the release of land from rural residential area; 2) Urbanization can help to improve the city's agglomeration effect in terms of both population and economy; 3) Urbanization can contribute to improving the degree of intensification of land use; and 4) Urbanization can help to improve land-use efficiency. Therefore, urbanization may be an effective way to solve the contradiction between 'more population and much less land' in the study area.